How Is It Being Addressed?
Likelihood of Addressing the Issue
a. How do you know that this issue can be effectively addressed?
My school has the resources to implement an effective SEL program, it is just a matter of bringing light to the issue and moving forward with a plan.
We have two guidance counselors in our building, one for each grade level, and they are expected to create and teach SEL lessons for our students. With the guidance counselors being given more duties and responsibilities, the expectation has shifted to classroom teachers being told to teach SEL every day. However, the teachers were not equipped with the correct tools or trainings to do so.
Some barriers that exist include lack of planning time, lack of resources, and lack of motivation from teachers. Without proper training, teachers will not be motivated to teach SEL or implement Responsive Classroom techniques since they are unfamiliar with those practices.
When I did a formal Responsive Classroom training, my school had paid for me and another teacher to attend, so they would have to pay for entire school training as well. If it is not in their budget, then they may pass on this opportunity.
The only committees that I could think to help raise awareness in this issue is the school board and the school community, including students' families. We should always be putting the students first, so if parents and families reach out to the school board to discuss their concerns with the lack of SEL resources at the school, they may be able to push the issue to the front of the list of priorities. A teacher leader can emphasize the importance of addressing the issue and reaching out to community members to help.
Existing Strategies at My School
Our school has already funded an SEL program called Second Step. The way that our school used to run the program was by allotting time for each class to meet with the grade level guidance counselor. During these meetings, the guidance counselor would teach a lesson directly from Second Step, altering the suggested script, sharing the videos from the online site, and having whole group discussions with the students.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our guidance counselors went above and beyond by making videos for each lesson and sent the teachers a scope and sequence on when and how to use these videos. We had a set time for SEL lessons each morning during homeroom where we played the videos for each individual lesson. The videos sparked discussion and helped teachers create a safe environment in the virtual classroom.
When we returned to brick and mortar in August 2021, there was no plan set in place for SEL. During the first week of school, we were given a scope and sequence. However, the scope and sequence only laid out the first three weeks of SEL lessons. When I looked over the lessons, I realized that the lessons are completely out of order than the typical topics that are covered in the first few weeks. Instead of questioning it, I followed along and taught the first few lessons. Teachers do not typically teach the SEL lessons, so it was all new to us. After the third week, there were no more lessons posted to the SEL scope and sequence so we did not know what to teach next. Some teachers reached out to the guidance counselors, but did not receive a response as to how to proceed with the lessons. After awhile, most teachers gave up teaching SEL at all. I ended up creating my own lessons, but I also got to school early or stayed late in order to prepare for those lessons.
Unfortunately, most teachers seemed to be okay with skipping over SEL lessons and continuing on without any sort of formal SEL teaching. This was detrimental to our students' wellbeing.